Former broadcaster Vince Marinello has been found guilty of second-degree murder by a Lafayette jury.

The jurors reached a unanimous agreement that Marinello was guilty. The decision comes after nearly two weeks of intense testimony and 27 months of media scrutiny surrounding the murder of Marinello’s estranged wife, Liz Marinello.

The jury deliberated for more than 2 hours after hearing closing arguments from the defense and prosecutors in the case.

Assistant Jefferson Parish District Attorney Vince Paciera stated prosecutors’ case, saying, “This is a case about a killing of a human being, Liz Marinello.  After hearing him (Marinello) testify for the last two days, you would think it was about him.”

“You saw his ego when he was on the stand,” Paciera said.  Prosecutors outlined all the elements of their case to the jury.  They reaffirmed the credibility of some of their witnesses, including Allen Reese, an employee at Elliott’s Gun Works.

“Allen Reese is a hero, not a murderer. Consider that when you decide who to believe,” Paciera told jurors.  Reese had testified hat Vince Marinello had bought special nylon-coated bullets, a claim Marinello denied on the stand repeatedly.

About Annette Daniels, the friend and former lover of Vince Marinello’s who testified in support of his alibi that he was at her home in Mississippi during the hour when Liz Marinello was shot, Paciera said, “I don’t know what to tell you about Annette Daniels, coming here to save her lifelong friend and lover.”

Paciera closed his statements telling the jury: “Reasonable doubt, that’s ridiculous. There’s no doubt in this case.”

Defense attorney Paul Fleming then made his case to the jury, saying detectives “followed Vince, instead of following the evidence. If something doesn’t point to Vince, it’s not important, it’s not relevant,” he said.

Fleming argued, “Nobody says they saw Vince Marinello (or) saw him shoot Liz Marinello.”

Defense attorney Lee Faulkner then concluded the defense’s closing arguments, telling the jury “I’d have to be so convinced about the truth of the charge that I’d send my mother to jail.”

Faulkner argued that investigators don’t know whether or not this was a robbery attempt because Liz Marinello was clutching her purse when she was shot. 

Faulkner raised questions about why witnesses said they saw a man matching the description of the suspect taking a bicycle out of a white Ford Taurus in two different locations right around the same time.

He also reinforced to the jury that no one identified the man in the back parking lot lurking around as Vince Marinello and no one saw that man shoot Liz Marinello.

Prosecutor Tommy Block then responded to the defense’s claims with comments about the infamous checklist, which Marinello tried to defend as an “evidence list” on the witness stand Friday.  Block said “The list is so important… only the killer would know those things.”

In closing arguments, prosecutors also said about Marinello: "This man has spent his entire career behind a microphone. He's comfortable behind a microphone. He's comfortable telling stories -- but when these detectives ask him tough questions, he can't go to a commercial. He's a liar."

Spectators, attorneys and law enforcement officers – not to mention family members – packed the Lafayette courthouse for the final day in testimony of the second-degree murder trial.

Right off the bat, Marinello returned to the witness stand for more intense questioning from prosecutors.

The questions got too intense at one point that the judge had the break the lawyers up, calling them to the bench.

Block once again grilled Marinello about his alibi, how long it took to get to Byram, Miss., and whether or not that conflicted with his cell phone records.

Cell phone experts testified that Marinello received a call at 5:15 while in Fluker, La., a 100 miles from Byram. Block said that “for you to drive a 100 miles in 45 minutes, you would have to have been traveling in excess of 133 miles per hour. Does a Ford Taurus go that fast?”

Marinello responded, “No, sir.”

Also in court Saturday were friends of Marinello, who had to testify for prosecution in the case. One of them is a contractor, David Selmo, who did work for Marinello in the weeks before Liz Marinello’s murder.

“When all is said and done, it’s a lose-lose. If you’re found not guilty, you’re going to leave that courtroom pretty much friendless, shunned by society,” Selmo said outside of court Saturday.  “And if you’re found guilty, of course it’s a no brainer. You’re life is over as you know it.”

The other friend who spoke outside of court was Marinello’s former co-host on WWL Radio, Bob Mitchell.